It Takes Double Time

So King James and his ailing Cavs defeat the Bucks in OT last night. I'm surprised that the Cavs needed the 2nd extra period to eek out a win... the sad thing is, whenever I see the Bucks play against the Cleveland Cavaliers I have a series of "what might have been" thoughts cascading into my head. Why? Because Michael Redd should be playing alongside LeBron. But for some reason, the Cavs couldn't make a competitive offer to the man two or three seasons ago when he was a free agent. Or maybe Redd, like so many other players, ain't tryin' to play roundball in the Mistake By The Lake! Imagine if LeBron was dishing off to Michael Redd in the corner instead of Larry Hughes? Imagine Redd leading the break off a defensive rebound outlet pass, he could dish to LeBron or take it to rack himself and bring the crowd at The Q to its feet? Those are just pipe dreams... sadly.

Coach Mike Brown is still in search of his rotation, which is understandable considernig LeBron was sidelined with an injruy, so was Larry Hughes and the Brazilian Sensation wanted more money and more respect -- Alex's comments about not wanting to play in Cleveland are probably the tip of the iceberg about rising players not wishing to earn their huge paychecks in Cleveland. But it's not like this roster doesn't know how to play and SUCCEED together, they did it last season and with good results. Why is it so difficult now?

Well, the match-up that everyone wants to see if the Cavs versus the Celtics... that preview of the Eastern Conference Finals... Maybe we'll see the Pistons cause a funk in the post-season, but the Cavs have the Pistons cards -- pushed them to the brink two seasons ago and smashed them last season (neither team made any significant roster changes, so I expect the results to be the same should they meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals).

What needs to be in the hearts and minds of Cav Fans is, what's up with the February Trade Deadline?